My dog won't let me put a harness on her.?

Ever since I've had my dog (she's 1 1/2 yrs old) I've taken her on walks. I have been putting a harness on her for about 9 months now, and I am tired of her trying to run away and turn her head away from me when trying to put the harness on. I have another dog (he's 8 months) that has no issues at... show more Ever since I've had my dog (she's 1 1/2 yrs old) I've taken her on walks. I have been putting a harness on her for about 9 months now, and I am tired of her trying to run away and turn her head away from me when trying to put the harness on. I have another dog (he's 8 months) that has no issues at all with the harness, he holds still and lets me put it on him completely. What should I do? Thanks in advance!

Answers

Best Answer: You can try to get her used to the harness and use positive reinforcement which will hopefully make her feel neutral about it, making it easy for you to put it on.

This is what I would do. Sometime when you have a lot of free time in a day, on a weekend or something, start a mini training session. Put the harness on the floor somewhere, then using pieces of dry food (or little bits of cookie bones if you don't use dry food) ask her to sit next to the harness, lay down, give paw... whatever commands she knows and give lots of praise. Staying calm and positive is very key, dogs pick up if you're feeling anxious!

After a few commands, if she's doing well, try putting the harness over her head. Not even putting it on correctly, just draping it on her and do some more "sit" commands, rewarding with food to calm her down.

If she gets anxious when you add the harness, just be patient + don't try to force it. Eventually you should be able to put the harness on the correct way. Try having her wear it around the house for a while (an hour'ish) then go for a walk outside.

Train your dog that when it sees the harness it gets a treat. That way it will associate the harness with something great (the treat). It won't happen over night but slowly it will work. I'd also put it on her and show it to her when you aren't going to leave it on all the time. Sometimes just have it in your hand when you have a treat and ask her to sit. That way she is not going to associate the negative things that she already does with the harness.

What Bluie said is good but, to add on: You should hold the treat in front of her nose, and touch her back where the harness would be. Let her have the treat. Leave her alone for a few minutes. Come back, and simply put the harness on the floor in front of you. Call her over to you, and put the treat on the harness. Let her eat it and walk away. Wait another few minutes. Call her back, and hold the harness in one hand and a tasty treat in the other. Hold the treat firmly while she is nibbling on it. Place the harness on her back at the same time, move slowly. Gently slide her legs through, while she's still distracted. Depending on how scared she is, this may take a couple attempts. If she becomes uninterested in the Milk Bones or whatever, use blocks of cheese or even some lunchmeat.